Saturday, January 21, 2012

A good use for the dreadmill?

On episode 99 of Marathon Talk (a British podcast with great coverage of worldwide marathon news) did their training talk segment on using the treadmill (dreadmill) for interval training. They pointed out several things that made me rethink my opposition to indoor training. They mentioned that, for those of us without coaches, using a treadmill can be an easy way to make sure that you get consistent splits since you are setting the pace yourself. I must admit, having used the treadmill for some interval training during the last race buildup, I did find it a lot more enjoyable than other treadmill training. Somehow, the need to focus on being fast and keeping good form helps to keep my brain from lamenting, "ugh, we're running on the treadmill". Their practical training advice can be summed up in two simple rules: each interval must be at least as fast as the previous and the total number of intervals must go up each week. Give it a listen.